Asus TUF Gaming AX5400

Asus TUF Gaming AX5400: One-minute review

Asus has a separate brand, called Republic Of Gamers (RoG), that it uses for its high-end gaming gear, including its Rapture range of high-performance gaming routers. However, Asus also sells a couple of more affordable routers under its own name, using the TUF Gaming label. 

The Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 is one of the more expensive TUF models, but it still comes in at under $200, and its dual-band Wi-Fi 6 provides a top speed of 5.4Gbps, which should be more than fast enough for gaming on most domestic broadband services. And, for really serious gamers, the TUF router also provides ‘link aggregation’ features that can handle super-fast fibre broadband connections too. 

It also supports Asus’ AiMesh technology, which allows it to work as a mesh router in conjunction with other Asus routers, so you can further upgrade your home or office wi-fi in the future if you need to.

Asus TUF Gaming AX5400: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $199 (£170, AU$369)
• Where is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, the UK, and Australia

The TUF AX5400 is competitively priced for a high-speed Wi-Fi 6 router, costing $199 (£170, AU$369). That compares well with similar Wi-Fi 6 routers such as the Linksys Hydra Pro 6 ($249 / £169), whilst also offering link aggregation and other gaming features. And, for more casual gaming action, there’s a model called the Asus TUF Gaming AX3000, which offers 3.0Gbps speed for $189 (£127, AU$214).

• Value: 5 / 5

Asus TUF Gaming AX5400: Design

• Easy-to-use app
• Good parental controls
• Browser interface for advanced users

It may not have the over-the-top lighting of Asus’ Rapture routers, but the Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 certainly looks like a gaming router, with a chunky, angular design and an array of six separate antennae that helps to provide a fast, reliable wi-fi signal.

Like most conventional routers, the Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 includes one Gigabit Ethernet WAN port for connecting to your existing broadband modem or router, along with four additional Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports to provide a lag-free wired connection for PCs or gaming consoles. It’s also possible to combine - or ‘aggregate’ - the WAN port with one of the LAN ports in order to handle broadband speeds as high as 2Gbps. 

One of the Ethernet LAN ports is also assigned as the ‘gaming port’ and takes priority over the other Ethernet ports to ensure that your gaming rig always gets the highest possible speed. You can also aggregate the gaming port with a second LAN port to provide 2Gbps speed over Ethernet if required. There’s also a USB 3.2 port provided as well, so that you can connect a USB storage device and share it with other users on your network.

Getting started is very straightforward, as the Asus Router app allows you to simply scan a QR code in order to connect to the TUF router’s wi-fi network. Somewhat oddly, this new network is not initially protected by a password - something we’ve seen with other Asus routers in the past - so you need to quickly assign your own password to the network in order to keep it secure.

The Router app works well, though, giving you the option of creating two separate networks on the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, or combining them into a single network. There’s a handy network overview that allows you to monitor the data traffic and all the devices connected to your network. The QoS option - ‘quality of service’ - allows you to prioritise tasks such as gaming or streaming video in order to provide top performance for your gaming sessions. 

It also provides good parental controls, allowing you to create schedules for your children’s Internet use, and to select filters for adult content and other unsuitable material. There’s also a web browser interface available for advanced users who may want more detailed control over the network settings.

• Design: 5 / 5

Asus TUF Gaming AX5400: Performance

• Good performance on 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands
• High-speed wired connections for gaming

The Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 router performs well too, easily handling Steam downloads and gaming sessions on our 100Mbps office broadband service. Our normal broadband router can manage full speed when connecting to devices in the same room, achieving 100Mbps with the Ookla speed test, and 12.5MB/s for Steam downloads. 

As we expected, the Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 router simply matches those speeds when connecting to nearby devices, but we also have an office in the back of the building that our old wi-fi router struggles to reach, and forcing me to use PowerLine adaptors to provide a wired connection for my office iMac. 

However, the Asus TUF Gaming AX5400 router wins hands-down here, comfortably maintaining 100Mbps in the Ookla test and 12.5Mbps on both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands. That will make it a great - and affordable - option for gamers who need to boost their home Wi-Fi.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Asus TUF Gaming AX5400?

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Also consider

Linksys Hydra Pro 6
Another Wi-Fi 6 router that offers 5.4Gbps speed for serious gaming and streaming 4K video. It’s worth shopping around, though, as prices vary a lot online.

Read our full Linksys Hydra Pro 6 review

Netgear Nighthawk XR1000
The XR1000 also offers 5.4Gbps and Wi-Fi 6, but it’s a bit more expensive as it runs Netgear’s specialized Dumas operating system, which includes a number of advanced gaming features.

TP-Link Archer X55
It’s not a top-of-the-range router, but the Archer’s 3.0Gbps speed is still more than fast enough for streaming video and gaming, at a very competitive price.

Asus TUF Gaming AX5400: Report card

• First reviewed October 2022

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